Forging Ahead: Saint Vitus, Beloved Brooklyn Metal Club, To Reopen In Bushwick

Beloved metal club Saint Vitus announced July 3 it will be reopening in Bushwick, Brooklyn, after closing in August of 2024, which followed 13 years of operating in the borough’s Greenpoint neighborhood and building a global fanbase.

The new location is the former site of Brooklyn Made, which had a capacity of 500, more than double Saint Vitus’ former capacity of 220.

In an Instagram post announcing the club’s return, Saint Vitus referenced its zombie mascot “Günther,” who starred in a series of campy videos presaging the space’s return:

“Günther can finally lay his head to rest at our new home: 428 Troutman Street,” the post said. ‘Thanks for following along on his journey, we hope you had as much fun watching it as we did creating it. Welcome to the new era of Saint Vitus. We can’t wait to share what’s coming!” The video ended with the words “A New Chapter Begins…Fall 2026.”

“Saint Vitus is more than the most important heavy music club NYC has ever had,” said Adam Shore, promoter of the Blackened Music series, “they create audiences, build community, and give the music the love and detailed attention it deserves. Bands love to play there, fans love to go there. We are lucky to have them back.”

Saint Vitus became a haven for metal bands and built its credibility with smart programming and punching far above its capacity weight with underplays for acts including Megadeth, Anthrax, Deafheaven, Corrosion of Conformity, Against Me!, Refused, blink-182 and even Nirvana. The latter played a post-Nirvana Rock Hall induction party with Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear and guests Joan Jett, Kim Gordon, St. Vincent and J Mascis.

“It’s definitely been a massive void,” said Tim Borror, co-founder of the Sound Talent Group, a rock-heavy independent agency, about the venue closing. “We did multiple nights with a bunch of different bands. I could always count on David (Castillo, Saint Vitus’ partner and programmer) to book a lesser- known band and build a show around it or make something from nothing.”

After surviving the pandemic, which included a successful $130,000 Kickstarter for the club in 2020 that began with the modest goal of raising $15,000, Saint Vitus was shuttered in Feb. 2024 by the New York Department of Buildings. At the time, The Gothamist reported the city claimed the venue was operating as “an illegal eating and drinking establishment.”

Saint Vitus continued operating Vitus Presents, a promoter booking shows across the city at venues that include TV Eye, Elsewhere, Brooklyn Steel, Webster Hall, The Knockdown Center, Gold Sounds and The Meadows. Its merch, with its minimalist black and white skull logo and pentagram, is also a steady source of revenue.

The new space, the former Brooklyn Made, opened in Sept. of 2020 in a partnership with Bowery Presents, Anthony Makes and Delta Spirit’s Kelly Winrich, which closed in Feb. 2025 amid acrimony and litigation that’s since been settled. Its location, amid a bustling Bushwick nightlife corridor surrounding the Jefferson Avenue subway stop, includes a gaggle of nightclubs including Xanadu, House of Yes, Elsewhere, The Cobra Club, The Sultan Room and more.

In a 2020 interview with Pollstar, booker/partner David Castillo said that Saint Vitus came into being with Arty Shepherd and George Souleidis, who “wanted to start a bar. They came from Matchless and had been bartending and are both musicians. I’ve been in charge of the calendar and booking since the day it opened. I bartended on Tuesday nights and booked some shows, which quickly turned into booking a lot of shows.”

It’s exactly that volume and quality of shows that has fans and industry so excited about the news. “It was greatly missed,” Borror said. “It’s huge that it’s returning.”